Solar Power in Houston

Cheap Solar Houston TX Solar Policies and Incentives
Unfortunately, Houston offers very little in the realm of incentives, tax rebates, and credits. If you install solar panels in your home, you are eligible for the federal tax credit of 30 percent, which is nothing to sneeze at. Keep this in mind when talking with installers about your costs, as an eye-boggling quote will actually be 30 percent less than it appears.

The good news? So long as you have equity on your home, you can take out a lease that will actually give you a better return on investment than buying the equipment outright. The reason for this advantage is because using a loan to install solar panels is essentially the same as investing in a business (your own electricity generating business) that is guaranteed to succeed, earn you that nice 30 percent tax credit, and increase the value of your home. The loan allows you to pay over time, but you’ll reap all the money-saving benefits of solar energy now. The decrease in your energy bill should offset the cost of your loan by about half—if not more. For this reason, we recommend taking out a home-equity line of credit (HELOC) with a fixed rate of no higher than 5 percent. If you pay it back over 15 years, you’ll be making money in no time.



Unfortunately, Texas doesn’t allow solar companies to lease their systems to you (typically the third financing option in most states). It’s not exactly that they prohibit it, they just offer so little incentive to do so that solar companies don’t even bother. Another bummer is that the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (the amount of energy the state is required to obtain through renewable resources) is middle of the road — 28th in the country to be exact — which is disappointing for such a large state with an abundance of both sun and resources.

A couple other things to know about Texas’s state laws regarding solar energy: There’s no solar carve out, meaning no percentage of the Renewable Portfolio Standard is allotted towards solar energy. That leaves the state with very little motivation to subsidize or offer rebates on solar energy systems. The final thing to remember is there are no net-metering laws. Net-metering allows solar energy system owners to earn money back by funneling the excess energy their system makes back to the utility company. A few utility companies do offer net-metering, but the lack of laws surrounding the issue means it’s by no means a guaranteed thing.

What to Expect
Houston receives 1600 harvestable kWh (kilowatt hours) of sun every year. Though the average cost of energy in Texas is 13 cents per kWh of electricity, Houston residents pay less at a rate of 11 cents per kWh. Even with those fairly low electricity rates, solar is still the more cost-effective option. Check out our calculations below to understand how much money’s worth of power your system could produce every year in Houston.

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